Papal controversies: When Popes make headlines

Papal controversies: When Popes make headlines

In pic: Pope Benedict XVI holds the pastoral staff as he celebrates Christmas midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI, the head of Roman Catholic Church, announced he will resign on February 28, which will make him the first pope to do so in centuries.

The Pontiff has cited his health and old age as reasons, but the fact is the city state of Vatican - the Papal seat - has been embroiled in row after row in recent years.

The "Vatileaks" scandal, in which the pope's private papers are alleged to have been pilfered by his own butler, pales in comparison to the scandals of centuries past when popes were accused of violence, nepotism and sexual excesses.